Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 10th Nov 2012 01:41 UTC
"Despite the fact that I've been using Windows 8 for the past three weeks, I somehow managed to overlook a rather stark feature in the OS: ads. No, we're not talking about ads cluttering up the desktop or login screen (thankfully), but rather ads that can be found inside of some Modern UI apps that Windows ships with. That includes Finance, Weather, Travel, News and so forth. Is it a problem? Let's tackle this from a couple of different angles." Hadn't seen them either - I don't use those applications - but this is pretty despicable.
Thread beginning with comment 541914
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[7]: Ads? in MY Windows?
by UltraZelda64 on Sun 11th Nov 2012 02:55
in reply to "RE[6]: Ads? in MY Windows?"
Member since:2006-12-05
As for the speed increase with Windows 8, I suspect some of the perceived responsiveness is down to the removal of transparency, dropshadows and other visual effects from the UI. Turning off those effects was always one of the tricks for speeding up Windows 7 on a slower system. Not that I've tested this for myself when comparing 7 & 8...
Yep. As far as I can tell, Microsoft finally realized that heavy 3D and transparent glass effects were a huge drain of power and they decided to just ditch Aero. This was in response to their new idea of wanting Windows 8 to run on literally every type of computer they can, not just traditional desktops, including those that are battery-powered and already have limited life.
Unfortunately, this causes a few major compatibility problems for me. I can no longer use KatMouse to get the mouse wheel to behave in a sane way, and I can also no longer use AllSnap to allow snapping of windows both to the edges of the screen and to the sides of other windows. Together, both of these programs helped to make Windows' clunky window manager much more usable to me.
As a bonus, they managed to make all window borders a huge 8 pixels wide, and took out the GUI configuration to change it. So, a third-party application or registry hack is needed to bring it back down to, say, a more respectable and sane two pixels.
Edited 2012-11-11 03:03 UTC
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2005-11-16
I'd agree with that 100%.
Even some of the advantages that Windows 8 does have can be added to previous versions of Windows. There's Process Explorer if you need a more advanced task manager, and of course there are freeware utilities to mount ISOs. Ignoring the awful "Modern UI" crap and the removal of the Start Menu, the differences between Windows 7 and 8 are pretty negligible.
As for the speed increase with Windows 8, I suspect some of the perceived responsiveness is down to the removal of transparency, dropshadows and other visual effects from the UI. Turning off those effects was always one of the tricks for speeding up Windows 7 on a slower system. Not that I've tested this for myself when comparing 7 & 8...